General

We are committed to responsible data management and subscribe to the principles of the current data protection legislation in the United Kingdom. We are committed to maintaining the privacy of our users and maintaining the security of any personal information received from them. If you contact NexusWest or receive any of our services you may be asked to provide basic personal information which will be kept securely and in complete confidence. If you have a consultation with us you may be asked to complete forms which will aid us in providing you with the best possible form of therapy.

No Information provided by you will ever be made available for sale or use by third parties. The information is used solely for accurate clinical assessment and therapeutic evaluation and contact with you. If you do not receive services from NexusWest, your information will only be used by us to compile completely anonymous data about how many people contact us and for general clinical profiling. Your identity and circumstances will never be revealed to any third party without your consent.

Should you agree to a referral to one of our outside consultants/colleagues, information about our assessment, any treatment interventions and your progress will be provided, in confidence, to these other professionals with your consent. Without such consent, outside referrals may not be possible however, except in cases of emergency.

Summary of Confidentiality Policy

Our psychotherapists, counsellors and our various consultants provide confidential treatment. This means that your treatment will not be discussed with anyone outside the team without your express consent. However, there are some important legal and professional limits to confidentiality.

Professional practice requires that therapists and counsellors discuss their work with a clinical supervisor who can monitor their practice and ensure that it continues to be of high quality. Treatments discussed in this confidential setting are never spoken about beyond that.

The law also places certain obligations on psychotherapists and counsellors:

In the event of a claim or legal dispute, psychotherapists and counsellors may be required to provide copies of their case notes or to appear in person when ordered to do so by a Judge.

Psychotherapists and counsellors are legally obliged to report the following to the appropriate authorities:

Current child abuse – including, but not limited to, paedophilia.

Threats of deliberate harm against the life of another person or to one-self.

Threats to commit terrorist acts.

Endangerment of vulnerable and/or dependent persons of any age.

Psychotherapists are obliged by their registering bodies to abide by their codes of ethical practice.

Ethical practice includes, for example:

Not exploiting clients emotionally or sexually.

Not making false claims about their training, abilities or practice.

Maintaining appropriate confidentiality.

Being properly insured to undertake psychotherapy, counselling, or coaching practice.

Not undertaking psychotherapy or counselling practice if under the influence of alcohol, intoxicants including illegal substances, or being otherwise incapacitated through illness.

Suspected unethical practice should be reported in the first instance to the Director, Dennis Durby.Contact can be made by email to: dennis.d@nexuswest.co.uk

Code of Ethics

NexusWest subscribes to the Ethical Framework of the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP). Individual consultants to whom clients may be referred are required to subscribe to the Codes of Ethics of the professional groups of which they are members. It is the client’s responsibility to enquire of any consultants about their current professional associations’ codes of ethics.

NexusWest expects the professionals on its referral network to both subscribe to and have available to clients all information related to their ethical codes and personal practise standards.